Ghosts of Christmas past
by NayaFan
Summary: Ten year old Santana and her family move into their new home, the old Pierce house, just in time for Christmas. It doesn't take them long to realise that not everything is as it seems. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**I have tons of this story already written, and I will be posting new chapters every couple of days. It's an AU holiday story that takes place over the span of Christmas and New Years. Hope you like!**_

_**R&R please.**_

**Chapter 1 **

**December 12th**

Shelby smiles softly as she pulls into the long driveway of their new house, the gravel crunching underneath the wheels of the sleek, black escalade. She slowly rolls the car to a stop and gazes at the old, rustic looking manor that she and her family are moving into. A quick glance towards the front passenger seat and the back seat confirms that the kids are still sleeping. She unbuckles her seatbelt and slides out of the car, wincing against the cold December air while quietly closing the car door, so as to not wake the sleeping children. Shelby grins when the large front door of the house swings open and her wife steps out onto the porch, looking stunning even with no make up and her golden blonde hair thrown up in a messy pony tail.

"You guys are finally here!" Shelby chuckles at the impatience in Cassandra's voice as the blonde woman practically throws herself into her arms.

"We missed you," Shelby murmurs into Cassandra's neck.

"I missed you guys too," Cassandra responds, pulling back to softly kiss her wife. " So much," she adds sincerely. "Are the kids asleep?"

"Yeah, they got tired doing nothing," Shelby chuckles. "Santana fought it, of course, but she crashed about an hour ago." She smiles tenderly as she talks about their youngest child, their bundle of constant energy.

"Sounds like Santana," Cassandra states with a warm smile. "How were the others?"

"Noah was great, he fell asleep as soon as we got on the road and only woke up to eat. Rachel and Quinn were a nightmare though, they bickered almost the whole damn way! Driving from New York was a bad idea," Shelby sighs, her exhaustion showing.

"I could have told you that. In fact, I'm pretty sure I did," Cassandra teases. "Come on, let's grab the kids and get out of the cold," she suggests, trudging across the gravel towards the car. Cassandra beams brightly as she catches her first glimpse of her beloved children in over a week. She pulls open the front passenger door and smiles warmly at Quinn as the fifteen year old grins tiredly back at her.

"Hey, mama," Quinn murmurs, accepting Cassandra's help as she stiffly climbs out of the escalade and seeks refuge in her mother's arms.

"Hi, sweetheart, how are you doing?"

"Good...tired," Quinn grumbles, laying her head on her mama's shoulder. "I missed you," she adds around a yawn.

"I missed you too, baby. How was the last week of school?" Cassandra questions, already knowing the answer but hoping that Quinn will tell her herself.

"Not good. It's a long story," Quinn grumbles into her shoulder.

"I've got plenty of time, we'll talk later. Go on inside, I'm just gonna help your mom get the others." Quinn nods and does as her mother tells her, yawning as she goes. Cassandra stumbles and almost falls over as Santana crashes into her, the ten year old clearly thrilled to see her mama.

"Hey, baby girl," Cassandra grins. With a slight groan, she lifts Santana into her arms and hugs her tightly. Santana is getting much too big for that, but Cassandra will never admit it. "I missed you," she states softly, pressing a soft kiss to the child's cheek.

"I missed you too, mama!" Shelby smiles warmly as she watches the reunion between her wife and their youngest child. As tough as Santana tries to act, she truly had missed her mama a great deal. "Did you behave yourself for mommy?" Cassandra asks, even though she already knows there had been minimal issues from Santana.

"Yeah, but Quinn and Rachel didn't," Santana says with a serious nod, both of her parents rolling their eyes.

"Alright, tattle tale," Cassandra gently scolds. "I asked about you, not your sisters. Go on inside before you freeze, we'll be right there," Cassandra tells her as she sets Santana back onto her feet. "Any opportunity to tattle on her sisters..." Cassandra grins at her wife. Shelby rolls her eyes yet again. Cassandra always seems to find Santana's tattling amusing, but at least she always hides it from the girl. It was something they really hope Santana will grow out of.

"Let's just get the kids inside."

It proves to be a struggle to wake Noah up and encourage him to go inside. At seventeen years old, he is obviously much too big to be half dragged, half carried, by his parents so they fought with him to wake up properly. Something that causes him a great deal of annoyance. Why do these women always want him to wake up?! Noah, please stop sleeping at the dinner table. Noah, it's almost two in the afternoon, please wake up. Noah, you need to stop falling asleep. Noah, Noah, Noah. Wake up, wake up, wake up. It's all he ever hears!

Finally, they get him to move his lazy ass into the house while Cassandra guides a sleepy Rachel inside as well. Shelby leans against the car for a moment, looking up at their new house. She can't believe they actually did it. They finally moved out of New York and back to Ohio, a couple of miles outside of their hometown. She sighs. Lima had still looked the same when she drove through it to get here, and she's glad to be home.

"Babe? Are you coming? It's freezing!" Shelby looks up to see Cassandra standing in the large doorway of the house.

"Yeah!" Shelby locks the car and trudges across to the house, relieved that the journey is over. Cassandra holds out her hand to her as Shelby reaches the door, leading her wife into the house. "Wow..." Shelby breathes out. "How the hell did you get all of this done in a week?"

"I'm awesome," Cassandra shrugs, a cocky smirk playing on her lips. The last time Shelby had seen this house it had been a mess. Dust and damp covered, and floorboards barely strong enough to hold a cat. "Contractors work faster when there's extra money involved and, besides, it wasn't that big of a job," Cassandra explains. "It mostly just needed a really good clean." Shelby and Cassandra walk around the house, hand in hand, and inspecting every inch of their new house. They listen as Rachel and Quinn furiously argue over which bedroom each girl should have, but decide to stay out of it for now. "Hey, bud, have you picked a bedroom?" Cassandra asks as Noah brushes passed them.

"Yeah, I'm taking the basement," he announces. "It's the one that's furthest away from those two," Noah adds, jerking his head in the direction of Quinn and Rachel. "Santana's in the attic," he adds, grabbing a nearby box of his stuff and carrying it downstairs.

"We should make sure Quinn and Rachel's bedrooms aren't too close to each other," Shelby murmurs. "We should take the middle bedroom so that they're seperated. I don't think it's a good idea for thirteen and fifteen year old girls who already constantly fight to near each other," she adds. "All that anger and hormones in close proximity..." Shelby winces.

"Yeah," Cassandra nods. Although, she isn't all that thrilled with the idea of being a buffer for the girls. "Is it a good idea for Santana to be in the attic room?" she asks softly. She doesn't love the thought of their youngest being so far away from them.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Shelby shrugs. She smirks, "you're not thinking about those silly stories, are you?"

"What stories?" Noah butts in as she reappears from downstairs. "About the house?" Cassandra raises a brow at her wife, warning her not to tell him. Shelby chuckles lightly and rubs her wife's arm.

"He's seventeen, I'm sure he can handle it," Shelby teases. She looks across at Noah, "when we were kids, everyone used to be terrified of this house. There was always stories about it. About the infamous Pierce family," Shelby grins.

"Oh yeah, aunt April told me about that," Noah says, his eyes full of recognition. "William Pierce, right?" Shelby nods. "Yeah, the dude that went crazy back in the sixties, and killed his family."

"Except he didn't," Cassandra interjects. "There was no William Pierce. It was made up by some high school kid to terrify the younger kids in the area. The older kids just wanted the place to themselves so that they had a place to smoke weed."

"How would you know that?" Noah asks, his features amused as he leans against the wall.

"Because I know everything."

"And you were a pot-head in high school?" Noah smirks. Cassandra glances at Shelby, hoping her wife would help her out with this one. Nope. She's on her own.

"Do as I say, not as I do," Cassandra states simply, walking into the bedroom she had been sleeping in for the last week and leaving her wife and son in the hall. "Go wash up, dinner will be ready soon." Noah turns to look at Shelby, his face serious, but his eyes twinkling with amusement,

"Ma's got the munchies."

0-00-0

Rachel frowns as she looks around her new bedroom. It's nice and all, but she hates that they've moved here. What was wrong with New York? They had a nice house...a nice life. New York has Broadway, and Times Square, and interesting people. What does Lima have? Nothing. That's what Lima has. Absolutely nothing. Rachel wishes they had stayed in New York. She hasn't said anything to her parents, though, because none of her siblings had. They seem okay being here. Even Noah, despite his love for the Giants.

"Where the hell is it?" Rachel spins around to see Quinn standing in the doorway.

"Where's what?" Rachel asks, her defences already raised due to the tone of her sister's voice.

"You know what, my cell phone! Where is it?" Quinn demands. "I left it on my bed. I'm bored of you always stealing it. Give it back." Rachel frowns and shrugs,

"I don't have it," she answers honestly.

"Of course you don't," Quinn scoffs. "You always take it. Just give it back, I need it."

"I don't have it," Rachel repeats slowly, as though her sister is stupid. "It's not my fault you don't know where you left it!"

"Stop lying, Rachel. Just give me it."

"I'm not lying!" Rachel raises her voice and stamps her foot. "Get out of my room if you're just going to be mean to me."

"I'm not leaving until I get it back!" Quinn yells back.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Shelby asks as she steps into the room, not at all surprised that they are arguing again already. It's pretty much all that they do.

"Rachel took my cell phone again," Quinn states coldly. "And now the little loser is lying about it. Like we don't all know that it's always her."

"No name calling, please," Shelby tells her oldest daughter firmly. Her kids can be as mad at each as they want, but she won't stand for them tearing each other down. "Rachel, do you have Quinn's cell phone?" she asks calmly, "and tell me the truth."

"I don't have it, mom. I promise," Rachel swears, feeling extremely put out that she is being accused in such a manner. Shelby studies Rachel's face, she can always tell when the girl is lying. Rachel is awful at lying, and Shelby can tell that she is being honest.

"She doesn't have it, Quinn," Shelby says. "Perhaps you've just forgotten where you put it," she adds softly.

"Mom, I'm telling you...I didn't forget. I remember putting it on my bed," Quinn argues, convinced that her little sister has taken it. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

"She doesn't have it," Shelby repeats. "So, apologise to your sister and go look for it." Quinn huffs, determined to not apologise to Rachel, but one look from her mother and she know that it is best to do as she has been asked.

"Fine. Sorry," Quinn grumbles, before turning on her heel and storming from Rachel's bedroom. She knows Rachel has it. Quinn stomps into her own bedroom and slams the door closed, furious that Rachel is getting away with this. Her hazel eyes narrow as she gazes at her bed, spotting the cell phone laying on top of the comforter. Snatching it up, Quinn begins to look through the device, checking to see if anything has been changed on it. That's weird, she clearly remember the cell being gone from the bed. Maybe Santana or Noah is messing with her. She groans. Why couldn't she have just been an only child?

0-00-0

Dinner is mostly a quiet affair, with Santana being the only one to do any talking. Quinn and Rachel have spent most of the meal glaring at each other from across the table, while Noah just looks bored of the drama that they always seem to cause. Thank god for Santana, because she is the only one interested in interacting with their parents, something they appreciate immensely. Their youngest child doesn't even seem to notice the issue between her two older sisters and, even if she does, doesn't seem to care in the slightest. No, she is much more interested in talking about her new friend.

"...and then she showed me the cool little stream in the woods, and we were jumping across it and..."

"Whoa, wait a second," Cassandra interrupts Santana. "You went into the woods?" she questions. Santana nods, suddenly unsure of herself. "You left the garden without asking mommy or me?" Cassandra checks. Santana's head drops, and she nods sullenly.

"Santana, don't ever do that again. I do not want you playing in the woods, and I certainly do not want you to be playing beside the stream," Cassandra scolds. "Do you understand me?"

"But, that's where Brittany likes to play," Santana argues, a pout pulling at her bottom lip.

"Brittany is your new friend?" Santana nods.

"Well, next time you can ask Brittany to play somewhere else with you," Cassandra states firmly. "I'm sure Brittany's parents don't want her playing in the woods either." Santana pouts, and Shelby notices the guilt on her wife's face. Cassandra had always struggled against that pout.

"Mama and I have no problem with you playing outside, and you can leave the garden as long as you tell us where you are going," Shelby injects herself into the conversation, "but you are not allowed to play in the woods. Okay?"

"Okay, mommy," Santana agrees. Albeit, begrudgingly.

"Thank you, honey," Shelby smiles. "Mama and I would really like to meet Brittany," she adds kindly. Shelby wants to know who her kid is hanging out with.

"You'll really like her, mommy," Santana grins. "She's super pretty and nice. She has blonde hair just like mama's, and it's really soft!" Shelby grins back at her youngest,

"She sounds awesome, baby girl." Cassandra and Shelby share an amused look at Santana's excitement. "You can bring her over some day." Shelby casts a glance across at Noah and notices that he is finished eating. "Hey, bud. If you're finished you can go, you don't need to wait for us to finish," she tells him with a smile. Shelby knows he hates being surrounded by his sisters' drama. He nods and, without a word, takes his empty plate to the sink. He's somewhat relieved that he can leave, the tension around the kitchen table could be cut with a knife. Noah makes his way down to the basement and flicks the light on. The space is huge, and his ma had put a decent sized sofa in there with all of his bedroom furniture. This place is going to be his safe place away from his sisters; his sanctuary. He opens the closet that he had been looking through before dinner, one of the few spaces in the house that Cassandra hadn't cleared yet. Noah sits down and crosses his legs in front of him, sitting just inside the closet. There's still so much shit in here from the previous owners, and some of it hasn't been touched in years. Pulling out a box, he opens it and peers inside,

"Junk," he mutters and pushes it aside. Another box catches his gaze, and he shimmies forward. The box itself is old and covered in dust, and it feels weak underneath his touch as he brushes the dust off. Noah carefully pulls it closer to him and lifts the lid. This box looks much more interesting. He pulls out an old, ragged doll and studies it. It doesn't look like one that Santana would play with, it looks much more old fashioned than any of her collection. Half of its hair is missing, and the clothes are stained and frayed. It looks too old for even someone his parents' age to have played with as a child. Placing it to one side, Noah lifts out the next item. It's an old photo album, and the leather binding feels soft. He can tell that it's old, but it has been well taken care of. It surprises him that someone would leave this behind.

Curiosity gets the best of him, and he carefully opens the album. The pictures are all in black and white, a few of them dog-eared. He gazes at the first picture curiously, studying the man in the picture. The man is dressed in old fashioned, formal clothes and he's sitting rigidly. There is no smile on his face, and his eyes are cold. There's not a shred of happiness on his features, even though the man has his family sitting around him. His, what Noah assumes is, his wife looks timid and neat. There's not one strand of her light hair out of place. Two young girls sit in front of the man and woman, but it's only one of them that catches Noah's attention and he smiles. Despite being surrounded by her stoic looking family, the slightly older girl has a large smile on her face. Her light coloured hair is around her shoulders, and her eyes seem to twinkle. The only shred of happiness in this picture comes from her...the little blonde girl, from so long ago.

_**To be continued...I have most of the story written so it will be updated every couple of days. Let me know what you think!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for the reviews and alerts for this story so far. Hope you enjoy the update!**_

_**R&R please.**_

**Chapter 2**

**December 13th**

Santana groans into her pillow, desperately trying to block out the sounds of her sisters fight...again. Why do they have to yell? Can't they just whisper while they're arguing 'cause she wants to go back to sleep! Sisters are annoying, at least Noah isn't loud and mad all the time. Although, mama did call him brooding that one time. She places her pillow over her head and squeezes her eyes closed, determined to go back to sleep.

"Santana?" Cassandra calls from the bottom of the attic staircase. "Breakfast!" Santana pretends she doesn't hear her mama. Maybe she'll just leave her alone. Santana pouts when she hears her mama climbing the stairs, knowing her mama will make her get up. It's so not fair. "Santana?" Oh man, her mama's in her bedroom now. "It's time to wake up, baby girl," Cassandra states softly, sitting on the edge of Santana's bed and rubbing her back.

"It's too early," Santana grumbles, whining when Cassandra pulls her pillow away.

"It's almost nine, lazy bones. Come on, mom made pancakes." Santana lifts her head and narrows her eyes in suspicion.

"Pancakes?"

"Yep. Now, come on and get some before your brother eats them all," Cassandra tells her. She gazes somewhat pleadingly at her sleepy daughter. She really doesn't want to deal with another grouchy child today, Rachel and Quinn had been more than enough for her.

"Can I get a ride?" Santana asks with a cheeky grin, throwing in a wink like she and her mama always do when they're playing around.

"Well, I don't know, little lady," Cassandra drawls in a terrible, fake southern accent. "I would require some payment of some sort. What can you pay me with?"

"Hmmm, I will give you one hug, ma'am. That's all I can offer," Santana replies in her own southern accent. Cassandra seems to ponder this for a moment, playfully stroking a pretend beard on her chin.

"I don't know...it's a pretty long trip. I would like at least three hugs." Santana huffs, her dark eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I'll give you..." Santana begins with a sly grin, "one hug and one kiss."

"You drive a hard bargain, but I accept your payment," Cassandra states, nodding seriously and opening her arms. She chuckles when Santana all but throws herself into her arms, rolling her eyes at the sloppy kiss that is placed on her cheek. Cassandra stands up once Santana pulls out of the hug,

"Hop on board, little lady," she winks. Santana clambers onto her mama's back with a laugh, playfully covering Cassandra's eyes with her small hands for a short moment.

"Get moving, ma'am. I have breakfast plans," Santana cheekily orders. Cassandra rolls her eyes, she always ends up taking orders from the little one. "Why are Rachel and Quinn yelling at each other again?" Santana asks as her mama carries her downstairs.

"I think you know that's none of your business, baby girl," Cassandra states gently.

"Is Quinn mad because she's trouble for being bad at school?"

"That's none of your business either, Santana," Cassandra sighs softly, "and don't you go bugging your sisters about it, okay?"

"Fine," Santana huffs, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly. Well that's boring... she wanted to hear all of the juicy details. "Can I have chocolate milk with my pancakes?" the ten year old asks sweetly, dropping her head forward and pressing her cheek against Cassandra's.

"I think that could be arranged," Cassandra grins. She's whipped by their youngest child, and both of them know it. Luckily, Santana doesn't seem to take advantage of that...well, not for anything big anyway. They walk into the kitchen, where the argument between Rachel and Quinn is still going strong, and Cassandra glances at her stressed out wife. "Hey! Stop your damn arguing," Cassandra orders. "I'm bored of listening to you two having the same argument every single day."

"Mama, she's been using my things again! Mom even found my ipod in her bedroom," Quinn complains. "She keeps lying about it, though," she adds, throwing Rachel a dark look. Cassandra glances at Shelby, Shelby nodding in confirmation. Cassandra sighs,

"Rachel, go into the living room and sit down. We'll talk to you in a minute," Cassandra states sternly as she bends down, allowing Santana to slide from her back. She watches as Rachel storms from the kitchen, narrowing her eyes slightly when she hears her frustrated groan. "Have a seat," she instructs the other two girls. Shelby beckons her over, and Cassandra steps away from their daughters, standing next to her wife.

"Quinn's things were in Rachel's room, she's been caught red handed," Shelby murmurs. "Quinn hadn't been in Rachel's room until I went in there, Rachel definitely took her things, but I don't understand why. I know sisters borrow each others things without asking, but Rachel wasn't using them," Shelby adds in a low voice, glancing at Santana to ensure she isn't being overheard.

"So she's just hiding stuff in her room?" Cassandra asks, her brow furrowing. "What's the point in doing that?"

"There's no point," Shelby shrugs. "She's maybe just acting out. It's not hard to see how upset she is about moving here." Cassandra nods, sighing softly.

"What do you want to do?" Cassandra quietly questions. "What she's doing is stealing, we can't allow that," she adds softly, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"I know. I don't she even realises it's actually stealing, she's just trying to get a reaction out of Quinn," Shelby sighs, "but, you're right, we can't allow that. We'll talk to her, tell her she's grounded for a couple of days. Hopefully she'll think twice about pulling this crap in future." Cassandra nods her agreement and takes her wife's hand. She inclines her head in the direction of the living room, and Shelby nods. "Make sure you leave some pancakes for Noah and Rachel," Shelby tells the kids at the table as she and Cassandra make their way to the living room. They find Rachel sulking on the sofa, the girl's face falling when they stand in front of her.

"I didn't take her stuff," Rachel tells them truthfully.

"Rachel," Shelby begins with a sigh, "I found it in your bedroom. You're thirteen years old, Rachel. You're old enough to understand that what you're doing is stealing."

"And now, lying," Cassandra interjects.

"I'm not lying!" Rachel defends herself, defiance on her features and her arms folded across her chest. "I didn't steal her stupid stuff!" Rachel's glare falters when her eyes meet Cassandra's stern gaze.

"Okay, fine. If that's how you wanna play it, you're grounded for a week," Cassandra grinds out. "That week will begin when you tell us the truth. So it's up to you, Rachel. You just let us know when you want to stop lying. Go upstairs." Guilt ripples through Cassandra's body as she watches tears flood Rachel's brown eyes, the girl sprinting out of the room a moment later. No matter what their kids do to deserve some sort of punishment, she always feels like a giant asshole. "I'm gonna take some food up to her," she sighs, trudging out of the living room. Shelby watches her wife leave with a shake of her head. It's only their second day in the house, and one kid is already grounded. Awesome. Just awesome.

**December 14th**

Noah frowns as he pulls several boxes out of the closet, his frown deepening when he doesn't find it. He had left it here, he was sure of it. He pulls random crap out of the boxes, searching for the doll that he had found. Why is it not there? Noah stops rummaging when his eyes land on something else. An old pipe. He picks it up and sniffs it, grimacing at the stale scent of tobacco. He has to admit, some of this old crap is pretty cool. He guesses that the pipe belongs to the miserable looking dude in the photographs, and his brow furrows as he examines the old pipe. It looks well used, and Noah can almost picture the man sitting by a fire, puffing on his pipe while his daughters play some sort of game together on the rug. Noah is drawn from his musings by a knock on the basement door, and he glances up to see Rachel standing at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, kid. Come down," he tells her kindly. He notices the sadness in his younger sister's eyes as she walks downstairs, and it causes him to frown. His sisters may bug the crap out of him at times, but Noah hates to see any of them unhappy. "What's up?" he asks, patting a space on the floor beside him.

"Mama still doesn't believe me," Rachel murmurs, slumping down next to her big brother.

"About Quinn's stuff?" Noah guesses.

"Yeah," Rachel sighs, "I didn't do it. I swear I didn't."

"I know." Rachel's gazes snaps up to meet Noah's, surprise written all over her young features. "You never lie to me," Noah shrugs. "None of you do." It's true, none of the girls ever lie to their brother. They always know they don't need to. "Her stuff probably got mixed up in the wrong box or something, or she's playing you."

"Thank you," Rachel whispers. She's so relieved that someone believes her, that someone is finally on her side. "I wish mom and mama believed me," she says sadly. "I'm gonna be grounded forever unless I lie and say I did it, but they'd be so disappointed."

"They'll believe you eventually, kid," Noah states reassuringly. "They'll realise that you're telling the truth, no kid would keep lying after the options you were given," he adds matter of factly.

"I hope so," Rachel grumbles. She glances around at all of the items surrounding Noah and frowns in confusion. "None of these are my Christmas presents, are they?" she questions, and Noah smirks.

"No, they're not anybody's Christmas presents," he chuckles. "I found all this stuff down here, it's pretty cool. I found an old doll, but I lost it. I don't know where the hell it is," Noah frowns.

"I didn't take it!" Rachel says instantly, fearful that she's about to be accused of taking things again. Noah rolls his eyes, laughing softly.

"I know, Rach," Noah reassures her. "I just misplaced it. I'll show it to you when I find it, but here," he adds, handing the photo album to his sister. "Check this out." Rachel flips the album open and studies the first picture, a small look of awe playing on her features. "I don't know how old it is, but I think that's our living room." Rachel glances up at Noah in surprise.

"They used to live here?"

"I think so. I mean, why else would their stuff be here? It's kinda cool, right?" Noah smiles.

"Yeah, but he looks mean." Noah nods. "He should have smiled."

"I know, right? Maybe he had jacked up teeth, or something," he shrugs. "There's tons of stuff here that looks old as hell, it's probably all his. You can help me look through it all if you want," Noah offers. Rachel nods eagerly, her eyes lighting up as she continues to flip through the album.

"Look at this one!" Rachel hands the album back to Noah, and he smiles as he looks down at the photo his sister found. It's the happy little girl from the first picture. She's sitting on a wooden stool, a doll in her arms.

"That's the doll I found," Noah informs Rachel. "That's cool! It has less hair now, but it's still got the same clothes."

"I wonder what she named it," Rachel wonders out loud. "She's super pretty," Rachel murmurs. "She doesn't look happy in this picture, though." Noah frowns. She's right. In fact, the little girl looks miserable this time, and there are visible tear tracks on her cheeks. "She looks really sad, I wonder what made her feel so sad," Rachel murmurs.

"Noah, is Santana down here with you?" They both look up and see Quinn standing in the basement doorway. "Oh...never mind." Rachel frowns at the look of disdain in her sister's hazel gaze.

"I haven't seen her in a couple of hours, Q," Noah states. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, she's just pulled one of her disappearing acts again," Quinn shrugs. "Mom's pretty pissed, and mama has gone to look for her. I'll let you know when she's home," Quinn adds, only looking at Noah.

"Quinn, I..." Rachel begins, but she falters underneath her sister's cold stare.

"I don't want to hear it," Quinn tells her evenly. "Just do us all a favour and stop the crap." With that, Quinn flounces away again. Noah sighs, soothingly rubbing Rachel's back.

"She's just mad, kid. Give her time, she'll apologise once she knows she's wrong," Noah murmurs. "Just stay out of trouble until the jury overturns their decision," he adds teasingly. Rachel smiles softly, at least her brother has her back.

0-00-0

Santana chases after Brittany, following the mane of golden hair and laughing. There's no way she can catch Brittany, Brittany had caught her much too easily. She loses sight of her new friend, and she gazes around at the trees, trying to guess which one Brittany is hiding behind. Anticipation buzzes throughout her body, and she laughs loudly when Brittany jumps out at her. The blonde girl tags Santana with a victorious smile, and Brittany playfully shoves her. Santana grins as she stumbles slightly, her foot landing in the freezing cold water of the stream. A giggle escapes her lips as she shakes her foot, droplets of dirty water dripping from her sneaker.

"Brittany! You got me wet!" Santana exclaims, but there is no trace of anger in her voice.

"That's okay," Brittany says, smiling as she places her foot into the stream. "Now we're both wet."

"Won't your parents be mad?" Santana apprehensively questions. She knows hers certainly will, especially 'cause she's in the woods again.

"Nope! My clothes are super old," Brittany shrugs, and Santana appraises her new friend's outfit. Her clothes really do look super old! In fact, Santana had never seen anyone wear that kind of dress before. Well, except for in the movies, but those movies were about old people from a long time ago. Weird. "Are your parents going to be upset with you?" Brittany asks, her smile suddenly dropping from her face.

"Not if I wait until I'm dry before I go home," Santana responds with a sly smile.

"Good idea!"

"Santana!" Santana winces slightly when she hears her mama's voice floating through the trees.

"That's my mama," Santana mumbles. "She's gonna be mad."

"Why?" Brittany cocks her head to the side, curiously studying Santana's worried expression.

"She told me I'm not allowed to play in here," Santana admits. "But I don't want to go back inside, my sisters keep fighting and they're gonna ruin Christmas if they get grounded," she frowns.

"I hate Christmas." Santana's eyes widen in surprise as she takes in Brittany's dark expression. The girl, who had smiled for every moment that they've been together in the last two days, looks positively livid at the thought of Christmas. Santana goes to question her but,

"there you are! Santana, mom and I told you _not_ to play in here," Cassandra scolds. Santana whips around to face her mama, and her face falls when she notices the anger on Cassandra's face. "It's freezing, and you don't even have a coat on...are you wet? Were you playing close to the stream again? Santana, I..."

"But, mama," Santana interrupts her mama. "I was safe. I was just playing tag with Brittany and I won't get lost. Brittany knows her way around really well and..."

"And _where_ is Brittany?" Cassandra asks. Santana frowns in confusion and turns around, surprised to see that Brittany is no longer there.

"But.." Santana's brow furrows, "she was right there, mama." Where did she go? Cassandra sighs.

"You can see Brittany another day, Santana. Come on, you're coming back inside," Cassandra tells her, holding out her hand for her daughter to take. Santana huffs as she takes a hold of her mama's hand, allowing herself to be led out of the woods. Cassandra doesn't say anything else as she walks Santana to the house, noticing that Shelby is waiting for them on the porch.

"You know you're not supposed to be in the woods," Shelby scolds as her wife and daughter reach her. "You're wet, what on earth have you been doing?" she demands, looking down at her freezing child. Santana doesn't respond, merely dropping her head and glaring at the ground. "Go on inside and get changed." Shelby watches Santana trudge inside before turning to her wife. "Was she at the stream?" Cassandra nods. "With Brittany?"

"She said Brittany was there, but I didn't see her," Cassandra comments. "Santana didn't even see her leave, I don't think."

0-00-0

Santana frowns as she stomps up the attic staircase. She didn't even get to say goodbye to Brittany. She thinks it's totally weird that Brittany just disappeared like that, and how did she even do it so quickly. Brittany had been right behind her when mama arrived. Santana grins slyly, she hopes Brittany can teach her to hide as good as she does. Dumping her sweater on her bed, Santana's nose wrinkles in confusion when she notices a doll on her bed. For a second, she excitedly thinks it's an early Christmas present, but then she notices how old and gross it is. Her mom and mama wouldn't get her that. Santana picks it up and frowns, half of the doll's hair is missing. Who would do that to their doll? Santana certainly wouldn't let her dolls be damaged like that.

"Hurry up and change, Santana. Mama and I would like to talk to you," Shelby yells from the bottom of the attic staircase. Santana rolls her eyes and sighs. Placing the doll in her closet, to hide it from everyone else, Santana frowns again. Where did it come from? "Santana?" Shelby walks into the room. "What are you doing?" Santana thinks about lying, but she knows that will just get her into more trouble.

"This was on my bed," Santana admits, pulling the doll out of the closet and handing it to Shelby.

"This isn't one of yours, is it?" Shelby's face wrinkles with disgust. "I think this belongs in the garbage, sweetie."

"It's not mine. It was just laying on my bed," Santana shrugs.

"Oh," Shelby frowns. "That's weird. Your brother or sisters must have found it somewhere and assumed it was yours. I'll throw it out while you get changed. Your mama and I want to have a little chat with you," she adds, giving Santana a stern look.

"Okay, mommy." Santana plans to be as angelic as she possibly can tonight. Maybe then she won't be in much trouble. Shelby nods, and turns on her heel to leave, mumbling under her breath as she leaves,

"what a weird looking doll. Who would want to play with this?"

_**To be continued...**_

_**Let me know what you think!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for all of the feedback so far. Please keep it coming! :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

**Chapter 3**

**December 15th**

Quinn sighs loudly as she walks through Lima. It's so weird to be in a small, quiet town after spending so much time in a loud, busy city. It's even weirder that they live here now. Quinn had never imagined her parents would move back here, they also seemed so happy in New York. Anytime they visited here during the holidays, they had never really left their grandmother's house because there was never any reason to, so Quinn doesn't know her way around this place. Looking at it now, she really doesn't want to know her way around, she just wants to go back to New York. It's much too quiet for her liking. She pulls her coat further around her body as the first flakes of the predicted now begin to float down. Quinn walks towards the first coffee shop she sees, and smiles slightly at the old man who sits outside. The warmth of the coffee shop hits her as soon as Quinn steps over the threshold, and she's happy to notice that the place is pretty much empty.

"What can I get you, ma'am?" Quinn looks up at the cute, blonde boy behind the counter and resists the urge to roll her eyes. Ma'am? She's fifteen for crying out loud. Quinn forces a polite smile to her face, and orders her coffee before sitting down at a small table in the far corner of the shop. She pulls her laptop out and starts writing an email to her best friend back home in New York. Quinn lets all of her frustration out into the email, only stopping for a few seconds when the boy brings her coffee over.

"Thanks," she murmurs, and he beams at her.

"You're welcome. Give me a yell if you need anything else." Quinn forces another smile to her face before going back to typing. She lets her best friend know about all of the crap Rachel has been pulling, and complains about Lima. It's nice to let it all out, but Quinn wishes Tina was here. Actually, if she's wishing for things, she wishes she was back in New York and talking face to face with Tina. She sits there for almost an hour, emailing some of her other friends and checking up on them all on Facebook. She doesn't even notice that the boy has been cleaning up around her until he stops next to her table, "ma'am?" Quinn rolls her eyes, there's that damn ma'am again!

"Yeah?"

"Um...I'm sorry to rush you, but we're closing in a couple of minutes," the blonde boy regretfully informs her. Quinn frowns and checks her watch.

"Closing? It's barely even five o'clock," Quinn scoffs. "What kind of coffee shop closes at five?" she asks, feeling a little bad at the look on the boy's face. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that...I just, I've never been in a coffee place that closes so early," Quinn explains.

"It's a small town, ma'am, and there's a bigger coffee place a few blocks down," Sam explains. "There's not enough customers to go around. I can show you where it is," he offers.

"I've probably had enough coffee for today, but thank you," Quinn replies with a smile.

"Maybe I could show you it anyway. You know, so you can find it next time you want a coffee after dark," he offers, a sly smile on his lips. Quinn ponders this, she knows he's flirting with her. He is kind of cute. "I'm Sam," he adds, holding his hand out. Quinn smiles and shakes his hand,

"I'm Quinn. It would be nice to know where it is, I guess," she shyly adds.

"Awesome," Sam grins at her. "Just gimme ten minutes to close up?"

"Sure." Quinn smirks as she watches Sam rush off, knowing the boy will probably be cutting a few corners tonight. He seems nice, maybe Lima isn't so bad after all. She briefly wonders what her mothers will think about this, but she pushes that thought to the back of her mind. They didn't care about what she thought when they moved her to a different state. Besides, it's been a while since a guy has shown any interest in her. It's nice. Sam must cut more corners that Quinn had thought he would as it's only a few minutes later when the lights go off, Sam grinning at her as he walks out of the back room.

"Alright, let's go," Sam smiles, pulling his hoodie on and grabbing the keys from the counter.

"That's it?" Quinn asks in amusement as she stands up, stuffing her belongings into her backpack.

"My dad drops by after closing, he deals with most of the stuff. He just asks me to close up a few nights a week," Sam shrugs.

"Your dad owns this place?" Quinn asks him.

"Yeah," Sam nods. "You ready to go?" Quinn nods, and frowns in confusion when Sam reaches over the counter. He produces a plastic cup and hands it to her. "I almost forgot," he smiles. "It's cold outside. Just consider it a free refill." Quinn chuckles lightly, he's sweet.

"Thanks," Quinn grins.

"Not a problem."

0-00-0

Noah slumps on the sofa and rests his feet on the coffee table, immediately turning the television on. His parents had finally gotten it hooked up, and he doesn't plan to move for the rest of the night. Rachel had been sulking in her bedroom for ages and he hasn't seen Santana since his parents left, this babysitting stuff is easy! He's getting paid just to sit and watch sports while his parents pick up some Christmas decorations. Sweet. Noah rolls his eyes when he hears a thump from upstairs, assuming that it's Rachel having some sort of hormonal tantrum. Groaning, Noah mutes the television and listens carefully, sighing when there is another thump.

"Rach!" yells, hoping that she will hear him and that he won't have to move.

"What?" Rachel's response floats through from the kitchen, and Noah frowns. He hadn't heard her come downstairs. Sighing, Noah pushes himself to his feet and trudges into the kitchen. He stops short when he finds Rachel doing the washing up.

"You never wash up," he states bluntly.

"Neither do you!" Rachel fires back. Noah raises his eyebrows, surprised by his sister's acidic tone of voice.

"Whoa, I didn't mean it like that, Rach."

"I know," Rachel sighs, "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to get back into mom and mama's good books. They still don't believe me." Noah winces when he notices the heartbroken expression on Rachel's face, and he wishes he could help her. Sadly, he can't. There's no way of proving anything.

"I'm sorry, kid," he states sincerely. "It might help if you stop throwing things around your room, though," Noah teases. Rachel frowns,

"What do you mean? "I've been down here for ages," Rachel tells him. "I've been cleaning the kitchen, can't you tell?" she asks, feeling slightly offended. She had been busting her butt to make the place look nice. Sure, it's for selfish reasons, but it'd be nice if it was noticeable. Noah looks around the kitchen and shrugs, he's only ever in the general area of the refrigerator, he doesn't really pay attention to much else in here. "It was probably Santana," Rachel sighs, giving up on getting any positive feedback. "She's grounded for today, she's not happy about it." Noah nods,

"yeah. I'll go check on her. Good job in here," Noah mutters, throwing his arm out and gesturing around the kitchen. Rachel rolls her eyes, it was hardly sincere. Boys. Noah winks at his little sister, drawing a smile from her before turning to leave the kitchen. He walks upstairs and glances into Rachel's bedroom, double checking that it wasn't actually her. Nope, her room is as neat as it usually is. Standing at the bottom of the attic staircase, Noah calls for his youngest sister,

"San?" He listens for a moment, rolling his eyes when she doesn't respond. She's probably listening to their mom's ipod again. Noah climbs the stairs to find Santana's bedroom empty. "You've got to be kidding me," he groans. She better just be screwing around and hiding from him. "Santana, stop screwing around and come out." Noah waits, his jaw setting when there is no sight or sound of her. "I'll call mama if I can't find you." He waits. Nothing. Noah frowns, that would usually work. He goes to leave the room, but something catches his gaze and he stops. The doll. It's on Santana's bed. What the hell? He had torn his bedroom apart looking for it, and it's up here. Muttering under his breath, Noah makes his way back downstairs, looking into every room as he does so. "Rach?" he calls as he walks back into the kitchen, "have you seen Santana?"

"She was in her room when I came down," Rachel tells him. "Why?"

"I can't find her," Noah groans, scrubbing his face with his hands. "They're gonna kill me!" Rachel worries her bottom lip with her teeth, avoiding making eye contact with her brother. He notices this. Noah leans on the counter and looks down at her, "where is she?"

"What? Santana? I have no idea," Rachel stutters, her cheeks staining red as she gets more and more flustered. Noah doesn't believe her for a second and he stays quiet, merely watching her with calm features. Rachel stares down at her socked feet, determined not to fold underneath Noah's piercing eyes.

"I'm sure mama and mom will be home soon. They'll want to know where she is, and they'll be pissed at both of you," Noah remarks.

"I don't wanna get Santana into trouble," Rachel murmurs.

"All the more reason to tell me where she is so I can get her back in her bedroom for them coming home," Noah states seriously. "If she is not here, they will lose it. Tell me where she is."

"You're not going to tell mama and mom?" Rachel nervously asks them. Noah sighs.

"Do you really think I'm going to admit to losing Santana?" he scoffs, "where is she?"

"I don't know exactly where, but she's playing with Brittany," Rachel murmurs. Noah groans. This Brittany kid is turning out to be a bad influence on his young sister. "Stay here." Noah marches towards the front door and swings it open, revealing a surprised Santana. He stares down at Santana, the girl looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Don't do that again," Noah pleads. "You need to tell me if you want to play outside," he says as he places his arm around Santana's shoulders, guiding her inside. "Seriously, you can't do that to me."

"Sorry," Santana pouts. "I thought you would tell on me," she adds softly.

"The next time you sneak out, I will," Noah tells her seriously. "Believe me, I will." Noah sighs and bends over to press a soft kiss to Santana's forehead. "Go get changed, you weren't wearing that when mom and mama left." Santana wraps her arms around Noah's waist, hugging him tightly. He's such a cool big brother. Santana starts heading upstairs when Noah stops her, "hey, San. If you wanna boring stuff from my room, that's alright. Just ask first, kid, alright?" Santana gazes at her brother in confusion, but nods anyway. Boys are weird. "Come back down when you're ready, I'll make you something to eat."

"Okay," Santana murmurs. "Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." Noah smiles kindly at his little sister. She can be really cute when she wants to be.

"It's alright. Just don't do it again, rugrat." Santana grins at him and makes her way up to her bedroom. She's relieved that her mom and mama aren't going to find out, especially since it was a waste of time. She couldn't find Brittany anywhere! Santana walks into her room, and stops.

"Where did you come from?" she mumbles, frowning in confusion as she picks the doll up. "Mommy threw you out." Santana thinks for a moment. Maybe Rachel got it back for her. She _has_ been acting super nice today. Santana shrugs, and places the doll in her closet again, throwing some clothes on top of it. She doesn't want Shelby finding it again.

**December 16th**

"Quinn?!" Shelby walks down the driveway, her winter coat zipped all the way up and a wool hat on her head. Where the hell is she? Waking up to find out that one of her kids didn't come home the night before is terrifying for her. When Quinn missed curfew last night, she and Cassandra had assumed Quinn was just running late, and Cassandra had decided to wait up for her. When Shelby had woken up to find Cassandra fast asleep on the sofa, and no Quinn, her heart had felt like it had stopped. Last night, she had been furious. This morning, she's scared out of her mind. "Quinn?" She stops when she hears a car, and she turns around to find Noah in their car. The car idles a few yards away from her, and Shelby walks across to it.

"Get in, mom," Noah tells her, winding down the window. "You're not gonna find her on foot." Shelby nods, and walks around to the passenger door. Noah feels guilt gnaw at his stomach as he drives towards town, he should have told his parents about Santana disappearing last night. Two of his sisters went AWOL on the same night, maybe there's a connection. It's too late to tell them now, though. They don't need to be worrying about Santana's new habit of disappearing while they're trying to find Quinn.

"Remember that time that you didn't come home from your friend's party?" Noah glances at his mom, and nods. He can't bring himself to speak. "Your mama and I were so scared, and you just came strolled in at lunchtime, still drunk and asking for some food." Noah smiles weakly. "We went from scared to pissed off in less than five seconds. After you had gone to your room to sleep it off, your mama and I talked about it for hours. Just trying to work out how we could stop it from happening again, you know?" Shelby swallows thickly. "It turns out we didn't need to worry about you doing it again. Seeing how much you scared us made you stop acting out all the time. You never could deal with guilt very well," Shelby murmurs. Noah bites his bottom lip and nods. He knows what she's doing. He knows that his mom is trying to convince herself that Quinn is just being a dumb teenager, and that there isn't anything seriously wrong.

"I'd never seen Ma cry before," Noah quietly states. "And Santana was a mess, too. I didn't want to do that to you guys ever again. Quinn will feel the same," he adds reassuringly.

"She's not gonna get a choice. None of you are ever leaving my sight again," Shelby tells him, and Noah can tell by the tone of her voice that she's only half joking. They fall into silence, and Noah rolls to a stop just as they reach Lima, only continuing once Shelby has gestured for him to turn left. He slowly drives his mom around Lima, his gut twisting when it begins to rain. Noah decides that he's going to kill his sister. After their parents are done killing her, of course. "There!" Noah's heart almost stops at his mother's unexpected yell. "Pull over." As he pulls over, Noah spots his sister sitting on one of the swings at a park across the street from them.

"Thank god," he murmurs as Shelby leaps out of the car. He steps out of the car and follows Shelby across to the park, staying a little behind her as he texts Cassandra, letting her know that they found Quinn. Noah watches his mom hug Quinn and frowns when Quinn doesn't even stand up from the swing.

"Noah?" He picks up the pace when Shelby calls for him, jogging towards his mom and sister. He stops, and his heart sinks. Quinn seems okay, physical okay anyway, but she looks weird. He notices that Quinn's lips are turning blue, so he pulls his hoodie off and wraps it around her shoulders. "Quinn, it's mom. What's wrong, baby girl?" Noah can hear the fear in Shelby's voice, and it fills him with dread. Quinn doesn't respond, she just stares straight through her brother and mother. As though they aren't even there.

"Mom?"

"I know, buddy," Shelby murmurs. "I think she's just in shock, or something. We just need to her home and warmed up," she tells him. Noah frowns, Quinn looks like she's no longer in her own body, and it scares the shit out of him. The only thing he wants to do is take her to the hospital, or shake her...or maybe both, but his mom is wearing her determined face. There's no arguing with Shelby Corcoran-July when she's wearing her determined face.

0-00-0

Noah slumps down on one of the armchairs and lets out a sigh. He's exhausted after spending the whole night worrying about his sister, but he doesn't want to sleep just yet. Quinn is kind of freaking him out. He watches her carefully as she lies on the sofa, their mama perched beside her, and he winces. His sister is almost unrecognisable. Her blonde hair is damp, and it hangs limply around her paler than usual face. What worries him the most is that his, usually snarky, sister hasn't uttered a single word. Not one word. She had allowed their mama and mom to help her change and cover with blankets, but she hadn't interacted with them in the slightest.

"Come on, honey, try and eat some soup," Cassandra gently coaxes Quinn. "It'll make you feel a little better." There's fear on Cassandra's features, and it only serves to scare Noah even more. It's weird. Quinn doesn't seem like Quinn at all, and he is desperate to find out what happened to her. At the same time, though, there's a selfish part of him that doesn't want to know. He's not the only one who's freaked out. Santana had cried after seeing Quinn, and Rachel had worked herself up to a minor anxiety attack. There's just something wrong with Quinn, but none of them can put their finger on it. "Noah?" Noah looks up to meet his mama's gaze. "Can you take this to the kitchen for me please?" Cassandra holds the untouched bowl of soup out, and he nods. "I'll try again later," she murmurs to her son. Noah carries the bowl to the kitchen and places it in the microwave, smiling weakly at Shelby and Rachel as he does so. Rachel seems a little calmer, but she is still wrapped in their mom's arms.

"Is she okay?" Rachel asks quietly, worry written all across her tear stained face. Noah shrugs,

"she's probably just tired, Rach," he replies. Rachel doesn't seem to believe him, and Noah doesn't blame her. He notices movement out of the corner of his eye, and he gazes across at Santana as she buttons her coat.

"Mommy, I'm gonna go play with Brittany," Santana announces from the doorway. Shelby looks too exhausted to argue. Besides, it's probably for the best if Santana is out of this environment for a little while, so she nods.

"Is Brittany already out there, sweetheart?" Shelby asks, and Noah winces at the tiredness in his mom's voice.

"Yeah! She's out front, mommy," Santana responds sweetly. Rachel had told her to be extra nice to their parents today. Shelby disengages herself from Rachel, promising to be back in a few minutes, and stands up.

"Come on, we need to find you a hat first," Shelby states. "It's cold out." Santana swallows a sigh, remembering her sister's warning, and forces herself to nod. She just wants to go out and play! Following her mom out of the kitchen, Santana sneaks a quick glance at her oldest sister. She frowns, Quinn looks weird. "C'mere, baby." Santana obediently stands in front of Shelby, allowing a warm hat to be placed on her head.

"Do I have to wear it, mommy?" Santana is unable to stop herself from asking, scrunching her face up as the hat is firmly pulled over her ears.

"Yes. It's cold."

"And you look cute, anyway," Noah interjects from behind them, putting a stop to any argument that may have been about to erupt from Santana's mouth. Santana sighs, she's already cute!

"Alright, sweet girl. Go have fun." Shelby kisses Santana's cheek and straightens up. She opens the door for her daughter, "where's Brittany?" Santana gives Shelby a weird look.

"She's right there, mommy!" she retorts in a 'duh' tone of voice, excitedly waving at Brittany. "Bye!" Santana all but flies out of the door, running as fast as she can towards Brittany.

"Noah?" Shelby begins, confused.

"I know," he murmurs, equally as confused as his mother. They watch as Santana animated talks, her wide smile clearly visible from the house. The girl gesticulates wildly, clearly excited. Usually, this would be a lovely sight to see. Today, however, it isn't and Shelby's brow furrows as she looks over at Noah.

"There's nobody there."

_**To be continued... I'd love to hear your thoughts - Please review :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for all of your feedback so far, it makes my day! Please keep it coming :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

**Chapter 4**

**December 17th**

Cassandra sighs softly as she pours herself her third cup of coffee of the morning. She's exhausted, but no matter how tired she feels, sleep just wouldn't come. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see Quinn's dull eyes and pale face, and her anxiety would worsen. Both she and Shelby had given up around six this morning, and had just gotten out of bed. Cassandra leans against the kitchen counter and cradles her coffee close to her chest, listening carefully for the sound of Quinn's voice in the living room. The doctor is in there with her and Shelby now, and had been for almost an hour, but Quinn still hadn't broken her strange silence. So far, the only thing the doctor had been able to tell them is that Quinn is physically healthy, but seems to be in shock. Cassandra is scared to find out what happened to make her daughter go into that state. Her gaze shifts to the kitchen table, and she inhales sharply.

"Santana, please stop playing with your food," she scolds. It's the fourth time she has had to reprimand the child for something this morning.

"I'm not hungry," Santana mumbles, and Cassandra knows straight away that her youngest child is not telling the truth. Santana is as starving as she usually is in the morning, she just doesn't wish to do as her mother says. "I just want to go and see Brittany," Santana adds grumpily. Cassandra sighs.

"Mommy and I have already said no," Cassandra states firmly. "Now please just eat your breakfast." Santana huffs loudly and stabs her fork into her waffles, a deep frown settling on her young features. Cassandra doesn't even know where to begin with this situation. It had surprised her when Shelby told her about it. It's weird to her, isn't Santana too old for imaginary friends? How do they even speak to her about this? As much as she doesn't love the situation, Cassandra hates that they do need to talk to Santana about Brittany. The girl hadn't stopped smiling since she started talking about her new...friend.

"Ma." Noah stands in the doorway and offers Cassandra a gentle smile. "The doc is about to leave, mom said to come get you." Cassandra nods, forcing a smile to her face for her son's benefit.

"Thanks, bud." Cassandra places her coffee on the kitchen table and points meaningfully at Santana's plate. "Eat," she states firmly before making her way out of the kitchen, rubbing Noah's forearm in a reassuring manner as she passes. Noah watches her go, waiting until his mama is in the living room before moving to sit across from Santana at the table.

"Since when are you not hungry?" Noah teases her, disappointed that it doesn't raise a smile from the ten year old. "Come on, just eat some of it. Mom and mama need you to do as they say, kiddo." Santana glares at him. He sighs, "listen, they have a lot to deal with right now. They don't need any of us adding to it, do they?"

"I guess not," Santana murmurs. "I just want to play with Brittany, though." Noah bites his lip, he doesn't know what to say to that. It's not his place to talk to Santana about Brittany. "She's my friend."

"She can't be your friend." Noah glances up as Rachel walks into the room. His sister, with the diva like tendencies, slumping down next to Santana. "She's not real," Rachel adds, and Noah shoots her a look. The look only has one meaning, shut up. "What? Mom and mama have enough to worry about, they don't need to worry about Santana and her imaginary friend."

"Brittany isn't imaginary," Santana frowns. "Noah saw her yesterday." She glances at her big brother and her frown deepens when he doesn't respond, his features wary. "Tell her, Noah." Noah winces, sighing softly. Santana stares at him, tears flooding her dark eyes, and Noah hates seeing the heartbreak on her features. It's like a betrayal to the young girl. "Noah?" Santana's voice breaks.

"Don't be a baby about it, Santana." Noah glares at Rachel, she just never knew when to shut up. "It's not a big deal, just stop pretending and go get a real friend. It's so st..."

"Enough!" Rachel turns to look at Noah in surprise. She had never heard him speak in that tone of voice before. "That's enough," Noah murmurs. He turns to Santana, but she rushes out of the room before he can even speak. "Nice one, Rachel. What the hell did you do that for?"

"Mom and mama don't need to be distracted by Santana's dumb imaginary friend right now," Rachel states sharply. Noah can't believe this what he's hearing.

"That was just downright mean," Noah hisses. "It's not your place to talk to Santana about that. Mom and mama were planning on doing that, and they were gonna do it without embarrassing her. You made her feel like crap, Rachel," Noah scolds. "I can't believe I've been defending you these last couple if days, and then you go and do something like that." He lets out a low breath, his gaze shifting to the doorway. He hadn't realised his mom was standing there.

"Go your room, Rachel." Shelby's tone is low and exhausted, yet Rachel can tell it wouldn't be a good idea to argue with her. Rachel huffs loudly and purposely scrapes her chair along the floor as harshly as she can. She flounces out of the kitchen, and Noah meets his mother's tired gaze. "I don't know what's gotten into her."

"Probably the move," Noah shrugs.

"That's no excuse," Shelby murmurs as she drops into the seat that Rachel had just departed.

"I didn't say it was," Noah softly replies. "How much did you hear?"

"Everything you said to her," Shelby states quietly. "Santana ran past me in the hall, but she wouldn't talk to me. She just ran up to her bedroom, crying." Noah frowns. "I was hoping your mama and I would be able to talk to her about it first, she must feel so embarrassed," Shelby sighs. "That's if she believes us."

"What do you mean?" Noah asks, his brow creasing.

"To her, Brittany is very much real." Noah contemplates his mother's words, and he feels terrible for Santana. His youngest sister is much more sensitive than she'd care to admit, and this could easily be devastating for her. "A person's imagination can be very powerful, Santana might not believe that she has just been imagining Brittany."

0-00-0

"Come on, sweetheart, you need to shower." Cassandra watches as her wife attempts to coax Quinn into their en suite bathroom, her bottom lip trapped in her teeth. The doctor had told them to try and not worry, that Quinn would snap out of it on her own when she was ready to talk about whatever happened. In Cassandra's opinion, it's bullshit. Their child, who is usually so full of life, looks like she is dead inside. Of course they're going to worry! Cassandra meets her wife's tear filled gaze and she immediately understands the silent question, Shelby needs her help. Stepping forward, Cassandra blocks Quinn's attempt to dart towards the door, staring deeply into her hazel eyes. She doesn't see her, she doesn't see her child inside those eyes. Quinn's expressionless gaze chills Cassandra to the bone. Quinn's eyes were always so full of expression, it was the one assured way of finding out what the girl was thinking; those eyes always gave away Quinn's feelings. Not this time, though. Nope, this time they're lifeless.

"Quinn, listen to me," Cassandra states, her voice firm and clear. "It's mama." Quinn's eyes show no sign of recognition, and Cassandra's stomach lurches violently. "Mommy and I are trying to help you." Still nothing. "You don't have to speak, just nod if you're listening." Cassandra's desperation builds and she blinks back stinging tears.

"Cass." She looks up when she hears Shelby's soft voice, their eyes locking. Shelby inclines her head in the direction, and Cassandra knows what her wife is suggesting. She nods. Cassandra reaches out to take a hold of Quinn's wrist and it's like a dam breaks somewhere inside the girl's mind. Her hand shoots out and it's only thanks to Cassandra's quick reflexes that it doesn't connect with her face.

"Shower," Cassandra states firmly. She steps forward and Quinn lets out a blood curdling scream, causing her mama to take a step back. Both parents stare at their daughter in stunned silence, their features painted with terror as they watch Quinn breathe deeply and stare into space. "Quinn..." Quinn jumps backwards, throwing herself into the corner of her parent's bedroom and snarling at them like a trapped animal.

"What the hell...?" Shelby can't believe her eyes. She had never, ever seen any of her children react in such a way. They had never raised their hands to she or Cassandra before, nor had they ever even looked tempted to. Staring down at Quinn, Shelby battles against the huge lump in her throat. This isn't her Quinn. This girl may look like her child, but Shelby doesn't recognise her.

"Mommy?" Shelby's eyes snap up to the doorway of the bedroom, her parental instincts kicking in when she sees Santana standing there. She steps forward and hauls Santana into her arms. "What's wrong with Quinn?" Shelby had never heard her youngest child sound so scared before.

"She's just upset, baby," Shelby reassures the girl. "Cass?"

"You go, I'll stay here," Cassandra responds, already knowing what Shelby is going to say. Shelby nods, and throws Quinn a nervous glance before carrying Santana from the bedroom. Shelby carries Santana downstairs and into the living room, where her siblings are already sitting. Rachel and Noah look away from the television, their concern immediately rising. "She's fine, sweetheart. You don't need to worry, that's mine and mama's job," Shelby explains, setting Santana on her feet. "You stay down here with your brother and sister."

"Mommy..." Rachel begins, but she falters when Shelby holds her hand up.

"I was going to tell you to come down from your bedroom, but I see you're already down here," Shelby states reprovingly. "I want all of you to stay down here unless it's to go to the bathroom," she explains. "I'll come down in a little while to make dinner."

"Mommy, can I go play with Brittany?" Santana asks quietly, shooting Rachel a scowl. Shelby sighs, sending both Rachel and Noah a meaningful glance each. They get the message, don't say a damn word about it to Santana. Neither she or Cassandra need to have an upset Santana on their hands again.

"Not tonight, honey," Shelby says softly. She can't deal with that conversation tonight. They can talk to her about it tomorrow, after they've all had a decent rest.

**December 18th**

Santana places her hands on her hips as she gazes around her bedroom, her nose scrunching in confusion. Where is it? Her brows furrow. She had hidden the doll in her closet, and now she can't find it. Santana sighs and her shoulders slump. It's not that she wants to play with it, it's old and gross, but she wants to know where it is. She's far too curious to let something like this slide. She can't even ask her mom, because her mom wouldn't be happy about the doll being back inside the house. Although, mommy and mama seem really busy with Quinn...maybe Santana can sneakily look around the house for the doll?

"Santana?" Oh man, busted! "Santana, lunch is ready," Cassandra calls from the bottom of the attic staircase. She sighs loudly, as though she has just been asked to perform a major chore.

"Coming, mama." Santana closes her closet door again before dropping to her knees and looking underneath her bed, just in case. Nope, not there either. Santana walks out of her bedroom and down the staircase, stopping outside of Quinn's bedroom. She looks inside, and her eyes widen. Quinn is laying on her bed staring into space, her arms wrapped tightly around the old doll. "Where did you get that?" Santana can't stop herself from asking, and she flinches when Quinn's blank eyes look her way.

"It's not yours," Quinn states lowly, her voice void of any emotion. Santana is surprised, it's the first time she has heard her sister speak since she came home.

"It's not yours either," Santana haughtily retorts. Quinn stares at her, a flicker of anger crossing her pale, beautiful features. A low growl escapes Quinn's lips, and Santana freezes in place. "Quinn?" her voice is shaky, and Santana's small frame quivers. Why is the girl that looks like her sister, not acting like her sister.

"Leave, or I'll fucking kill you!" Quinn hisses, her features contorting with rage. Santana lets out a small squeal, her little legs carrying her out of her sister's bedroom as fast as they possibly can. She runs downstairs to the kitchen and throws herself into her mama's arms, tears dripping from her eyes.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" Cassandra asks in alarm. She guides Santana across the table and sits down, pulling the ten year old onto her lap.

"I don't like Quinn anymore, she scares me," Santana cries into Cassandra's neck. "Make her be Quinn again." Cassandra glances around the room at the rest of her family, her gaze finally landing on Shelby. They make a silent agreement.

"Alright," Shelby begins calmly, "your mama and I need to have a little chat with you guys." Shelby sits down next to her wife and Santana, and she soothingly rubs her youngest child's back.

"Is this about Quinn?" Rachel softly questions. Shelby nods,

"Yeah, honey. We...um..we had a chat with the doctor yesterday," Shelby states. "He said that Quinn is physically fine, completely healthy...um," Shelby swallows thickly, "but he said that she seems to be in shock." Shelby gazes at Santana for a moment, ensuring the girl is okay and isn't confused by anything she has heard so far. "We don't know what happened to make her go into shock because she won't tell us anything." Shelby pauses for a moment, inhaling sharply as she tries to control her emotions. "We need to wait until she's ready to talk to us, and there's a chance that she might need to go hospital for a few days if she doesn't get any better."

"But it's almost Christmas," Santana mumbles, gazing at her mommy with red rimmed eyes. She sniffles and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand before continuing, "she can't be in hospital on Christmas."

"She won't be, baby girl," Cassandra murmurs, stroking the child's hair. "It wouldn't be until after Christmas, and it might not even happen at all. It all depends on how Quinn is doing after Christmas," she explains.

"Is that it?" Noah, who had been silent up until now, finally speaks. "That's all the doctor said? He hasn't done anything else to help her?" Shelby smiles sadly at her son,

"it's a complicated situation, buddy. The doctor knows best, and we're going to take his advice," Shelby tells him. "We just need to support Quinn, and do everything we can for her. She'll be okay, we'll get our Quinn back, we just need to be patient with her." The family falls silent, each member struggling to accept the information. None of them can even begin to imagine what happened to Quinn to put her in this kind of state.

"I want her to get better really quickly," Santana states with a serious nod. "She's mean when she's like this." Shelby smiles sympathetically at her daughter, nodding her agreement. She's somewhat relieved that Santana hasn't quite grasped just how serious this situation is. It's kind of comforting that Santana doesn't put much thought into what could have caused this. Her baby isn't aware of all of the evil in this world, and Shelby isn't ready for her to be either.

"We all do, baby. We all do."

0-00-0

Santana stares at her parents. Why are they doing this? It was bad enough that Noah and Rachel did this to her, but her mom and mama aren't supposed to do stuff like this. She bites down on her bottom lip to hide the fact that it's trembling, and her features settle into a deep frown. Her mothers watch her carefully, searching for any signs of understanding, but not finding any. Santana merely continues to frown at them.

"Santana, do you understand what mommy and I are saying to you?" Cassandra asks gently.

"Yes," Santana nods, and her parents both looked relieved, "but you're lying." Shelby and Cassandra share a look. "Brittany _is_ real," Santana states, determination visible on her face and in her tone of voice. "I've seen her, and I've played with her, and I've touched her," Santana explains. "You can't do that to people if they're not real," she adds smartly.

"Santana," Shelby sighs, "when you pointed at Brittany the other night, there was nobody there, sweetheart. Your brother and I couldn't see anyone, even when you were outside and playing, and talking, there wasn't anyone there with you." Shelby tries to be careful with her words, and she keeps her voice calm.

"But she _was_ there!" Santana slams her hand down on the table, frustrated that nobody seems to believe her.

"Santana!" The warning tone from her mama helps Santana to calm down a little bit, but not by much. "Mommy and Noah couldn't see Brittany," Cassandra says. "They wouldn't just make that up, angel. I know you _think_ you can see her, but she's not really there," Cassandra adds gently. "A lot of people have imaginary friends that they believe are real, it's nothing to be ashamed of. We're just worried about you, baby. We thought that you were with someone when you went out to play, but you were on your own. Your mommy and I don't want you going away on your own," Cassandra states. She reaches across the kitchen table to touch Santana's hand, but the child rips it away from her. Cassandra attempts to hide how much that hurts her, but she fails miserably.

"Santana, don't be mean to your mama," Shelby chastises her, raising a perfectly manicured brow in her child's direction.

"But you're being mean to me," Santana sadly retorts. "I can see my friend and I know she's real, but you keep she's not. She is!" Cassandra glances at Shelby and sighs loudly, it's clear that they aren't going to get through to Santana tonight."

"Alright. Why don't you go get changed into your pajamas and, if you stop yelling at us, we can watch a movie before bed. Noah and Rachel are already in the living room," Cassandra tells her.

"You don't believe me," Santana murmurs sadly, her chin trembling as she ignores her mama's request. Cassandra inhales sharply, narrowing her eyes slightly. Santana doesn't wait for a response, fleeing from the kitchen in tears. She runs straight up to her bedroom, not even glancing into Quinn's bedroom as she passes it. Santana reaches her bedroom and skids to a halt in the doorway, staring at the person sitting on her bed. "Brittany!"

"Hi!" Brittany looks thrilled to see her, and Santana can't keep the grin from her face. It falls from her face, though, as she remembers the conversation she just had with her mommy and mama.

"Why am I the only person that can see you?"

"You're not the only person, silly!" Brittany giggles.

"I'm not?" Santana feels hope rise in her chest.

"Nope. Quinn can too."

_**To be continued...Please review, your feedback and support means the world to me.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters. It all belongs to Fox and RIB. Any characters you do not recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Apologies to anyone that I scared with that last chapter ;) **_

_**Thank you all very much for the great response to this story, I'm trying to get back to all of your PMs and reviews, apologies if I missed you!**_

_**R&R please.**_

**Chapter 5**

**December 20th**

_"Quinn can see you?" she asks shakily, staring at the friend that her parents said doesn't exist. _

_"Well, kind of," Brittany says to her, and she feels a shiver run down her spine. "It doesn't matter, though, right? We're friends, Santana. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. I won't let anyone stop us from being friends, I like you too much." Santana frowns slightly, for a small second Brittany had sounded threatening, but she's smiling. People don't smile when they're threatening someone._

_"But...Quinn is mean now," Santana mumbles, confused._

_"She's not mean, I promise. Things will be better now," Brittany swears to her, and a smitten Santana is unable to resist. Brittany is her friend. Brittany wouldn't lie to her. _

Santana jerks awake, her heart pounding and beads of sweat layering her brow. Every time she had closed her eyes, she would relive that night with Brittany. It's as though the universe is telling her over and over again to trust Brittany. She does trust her, though. Kind of. She sleepily gazes around her darkened bedroom, her heart leaping into her throat when she sees the shadowy figure standing in the corner. She opens her mouth to scream, but a hand clamps over her mouth before any sound can escape.

"Relax, silly," she hears Brittany murmur into her ear, and she turns to face the blonde girl that stands next to her bed. Santana looks into Brittany's light blue eyes and feels herself slightly relax. "It's Quinn," Brittany shrugs, removing her hand from Santana's mouth. Santana glances over at the corner, frowning at her older sister.

"What's going on?" Santana asks softly.

"We have something to show you," Brittany beams, "come on, get up!" Santana can't help but smile at Brittany, there is just something about the girl that makes her smile. Santana slowly sits up and slides her legs over the edge of her bed. "Put some shoes on, the surprise is outside," Brittany tells her. Santana does as Brittany tells her to, wondering at the back of her mind if this is a good idea. "Trust me, silly," Brittany giggles, as though reading Santana's mind. Santana slips her sneakers on and pulls a sweatshirt on over her pajamas. She falters when Quinn steps forward, nerves flowing through her body like an electric current. Quinn holds her hand out, offering it to Santana. Santana frowns. She knows this isn't really her sister, but it's hard not to believe a face she has grown up trusting. Quinn's hand still hangs there, waiting for Santana to slot hers into it. Chewing on her bottom lip, Santana ponders the situation. Brittany likes her, would she encourage her to do something that is dangerous for her? She meets Brittany's eyes and spots the badly concealed excitement in them.

"Let's go, angel." Santana's breath hitches, that's what her sister always calls her. Santana shakily holds her hand out, gently grasping her sister's cold fingers.

"You have to be really quiet," Brittany states from behind her. "We don't want to wake the others up." Santana nods, allowing Quinn to lead her out of her bedroom. She's careful to avoid the squeaky bottom step on the attic staircase, but deep down Santana really wants her parents to wake up and catch them. There's a nagging feeling in her gut, and she so desperately wants to put a stop to this, but Quinn's grip on her hand is so tight that Santana doubts she could get away. She is led down to the front door, feeling Brittany behind her every step of the way.

"Quinn?" Santana looks up at her sister as she unlocks the door, but she frowns when Quinn meets her gaze. That cold gaze doesn't belong to her sister, and she no longer feels safe with her. Santana is led outside, and she immediately shivers against the cold winter air. The further away from the house they get, the more Santana regrets agreeing to this. Could her mothers hear her from here if she needed them to? "I'm not allowed in the woods," Santana states as she is led into the trees. Brittany giggles,

"I won't tell your parents if you don't." Santana frowns, this is a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. "Don't be a baby," Brittany teases with a grin. "It's not any different in the dark than it is during the day." Quinn's hand tightens around Santana's ever so slightly and it makes her nervous. They walk her to the clearing that she and Brittany like to play in, and Santana watches as Brittany slumps down onto a tree stump, seemingly unfazed by the light dusting of snow on it.

"What are we doing out here?" Santana asks. She's nervous and confused, and a little cold

"I told you," Brittany shrugs, "we have a surprise for you." Santana frowns,

"well, can I see it? I'm cold and I wanna go back to bed," Santana states, surprised to see that Brittany looks a little mad.

"That's not a nice way to react to a surprise," Brittany murmurs, before smiling again, "but okay, if you wanna know..." Brittany grins and looks at Quinn, Quinn still gripping Santana's hand. "This is my daddy," Brittany smiles.

"Where?" Santana looks around, confusion written all over her face. There's nobody else here. "Is she hiding?" she naively questions, her brows furrowing when Brittany laughs at her.

"No, silly. He's right next to you!" Brittany chuckles. Santana's skin crawls with unease, and she suddenly wishes her mama or mom would find out she's out here and come get her. Quinn's cold hand tightens again, and Santana's brain screams at her to run away. She has a really bad feeling about this. Santana looks up. Fear flows through her and she feels her pajama pants dampen, warmth running down her leg.

**December 23rd**

_"...the body has been identified as seventeen year old Samuel Evans. His parents had been looking for him after he failed to return home from work earlier in the week. Police have confirmed that they are looking for his killer and, as of yet, have no leads. Anyone with any information should contact the authorities immediately on..." _

Cassandra shuts the television off. It always hurts her heart when something like this is reported on the news, but, with everything that has been happening lately, she can't bring herself to even watch it.

"That poor boy," Shelby murmurs, "his poor parents." Cassandra nods her agreement. She can't imagine losing her children, they and Shelby are her whole life. "I think his parents own a couple of small businesses in town," Shelby remarks. "I was in their coffee shop yesterday with Santana, she really hated that place. She started crying when we didn't leave quickly enough." Cassandra frowns,

"That's weird. It's not like her," Cassandra says softly. It's not like anything in their family had been normal recently, though. The last couple of days had been pretty calm, but they're still worried about Quinn, and now Santana. Santana had been refusing to go to sleep after they had found her crying in her bedroom a couple of nights ago.

"Yeah," Shelby frowns, "I thought getting her out of the house would be good for her. I tried to talk to her about Brittany. You know, see how she was feeling about everything, but she just clammed up. She almost seemed scared," Shelby notes.

"Scared?" Cassandra's brow furrows. Shelby nods. "Poor kid. She must be so confused about this."

"Yeah, and we can't even try to talk her through it without scaring her," Shelby sighs.

"Maybe you're right about getting them out of the house, though," Cassandra murmurs. "All of them, even Quinn. Maybe we've been going about this all the wrong way," she shrugs. "We could take them Christmas shopping, we'll take two each and split up to get all the presents. They can get each other something." Shelby ponders this for a moment before nodding,

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea. We could all meet for dinner afterwards. We always go out for dinner on Christmas Eve's eve anyway," Shelby states, smiling at the thought of continuing their tradition. Dinner at a restaurant as a family on Christmas Eve's eve, takeout and movies on the sofa on Christmas Eve.

"Alright, it's still pretty early so we can let the kids sleep a little longer," Cassandra states. "Then we'll drag them out and force them to have fun with us," she adds with a grin.

"Oh! Forced fun, that sounds great," Shelby teases. "I can't wait to get started!" Cassandra rolls her eyes, gently swatting her wife's arm.

0-00-0

Noah sighs softly as he follows Cassandra and Santana into the millionth shop in the mall. Okay, maybe not the millionth, but it damn sure feels like it. His little sister had been tired and grumpy all morning, and it's making the shopping trip even more torturous than it usually would be. From what his parents have told him, it seems that Santana hasn't been sleeping very much lately. It's not that she can't sleep, it's that she _won't_ sleep. Noah wishes he knew what was going on with his sisters lately. Quinn has him terrified, and now Santana is acting weird, too.

"Come on, sweetheart," he hears Cassandra tell his sister. "Just one more shop, and then we're meeting mommy and your sisters for dinner." Santana doesn't seem impressed at all by this good news, in fact she actually looks even more upset. Noah frowns when he notices the tears in Santana's eyes and he places an arm around her small shoulders, his frown deepening when she flinches.

"Ma, why don't Santana and I take the bags out to the trunk," Noah suggests. "We don't need anything from this store anyway," he adds, realising it's a jewellery store. Cassandra looks down at Santana and sighs softly before looking up at her son, nodding.

"Alright, meet us at the restaurant," Cassandra murmurs. "Keep an eye on her, okay?" she adds, only for Noah to hear.

"Of course," Noah responds, reassuringly. "We'll see you in a bit." He shimmies the bags onto his wrist and takes a hold of Santana's hand, leading her out of the store. Santana is silent as they walk through the mall, and Noah keeps shooting her concerned glances. Santana isn't known for being quiet, if anything she's not quiet enough. "Hey, you wanna grab an ice cream?" Noah asks with a sly grin, "it'll be our little secret." He grins when Santana looks up at him with a shy smile, the girl nodding. He walks Santana over to the stand, "what kind? Chocolate?"

"Yeah," Santana whispers. Noah orders a cone for her, and pulls out his wallet to pay for it. He hands the ice cream cone over to Santana, exaggerating a long look around his shoulder to make her laugh. He's relieved when Santana giggles. "Thank you," she tells her brother softly.

"Not a problem, munchkin," Noah winks. "We'll go dump these bags, and we can sit outside while you eat that. Mama doesn't need to know I gave you ice-cream before dinner, does she?"

"Nope!" Santana grins. Noah shivers slightly when they get out to the parking lot, forgetting just cold it had been when they came in. He picks up the pace a little and dumps the bags into the trunk of their car. Bending over, Noah pulls the zip of Santana's jacket a little higher. "It's cold, huh?"

"It's winter," Santana states. Noah nods. Duh.

"So..." Noah wonders how to ask this question without upsetting Santana. "You wanna tell me why you've been so upset lately?" Noah softly questions. Santana looks up at him with large, sad eyes. She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth, the ice-cream in her hand now forgotten.

"There's something wrong with Quinn," Santana mumbles. Noah nods. He already knows that, but he has a feeling that Santana is hinting at more than that. "She's not Quinn anymore," Santana whispers, her brows furrowing.

"Yeah," Noah nods, leaning against the front of the car. "She's been acting differently." Santana frowns,

"no," she states seriously. "I mean, she's really not herself. She's not Quinn anymore." Noah's eyes narrow slightly, he's confused. "She's William now." Noah rolls his eyes,

"So you heard the stories about that dude from the sixties?" Noah sighs, he had been thinking something serious was going on with Santana.

"William isn't from the sixties," Santana corrects him. "He's from way before that." Noah groans. This is just what they need, Santana screwing around with another dumb story. "He's Brittany's daddy, and he's always really mean," Santana whispers. Noah sighs in exasperation, no longer willing to put up with Santana's little games. Not when much more serious things are happening to their sister.

"That's enough, Santana," he states, quietly yet seriously. "You need to stop this little game. Brittany isn't real, you know that!" Santana takes a step back, her ice-cream cone falling to the ground, ice-cream splattering onto her shoes.

"Yes she is!" Santana snaps. "She's real, and so is William! William said he would hurt me if I didn't do as he says," her voice drops to a whimper. "He killed Sam." Noah's gaze snaps up, and he stares at Santana. Different thoughts bounce around inside his brain, had Santana seen the news? No, she hadn't watched television this morning. Did she know Samuel Evans? No, that wasn't possible. "Quinn is William now," Santana repeats quietly.

"We're going back inside right now," Noah states firmly. He doesn't want to hear about the twisted little fantasy that Santana has created in her mind. It scares him that his little sister can think of something like this. "We need to get to the restaurant, anyway."

"No!" Santana yells. "No! William is in there!" The exhaustion and stress from the last several days finally catches up with Noah, and he loses his temper.

"Cut the crap, Santana!" Noah loudly orders. "I'm doing my best to help you, but your little game is making it so damn hard. Quinn is inside. Not William, and do you know why? Because William doesn't exist!" Noah slams his hand down on the car, frustration getting the best of him. He instantly regrets it when he notices Santana's flinch, and he takes a careful step forward. "San, I'm sorry," he murmurs, "but please, please stop with all of this."

"You don't believe me," she murmurs, her features showing the deep betrayal she feels.

"No," Noah shakes his head sadly. "No, I love you, but I don't believe you," he states softly. He watches his little sister's face crumple, and he feels his heart break. He had done that, he had caused her to feel so sad. Usually, he would just go along with his sister's wild imagination but, this time, she had gone too far.

"Guys, what is taking you so long?" Noah turns on his heel to look at his approaching mama. Cassandra falters when she spots the tears on Santana's face, "what's going on?" Noah glances at Santana, shaking his head ever so slightly and Santana sniffles, relieved. Her brother may not believe her secret, but he's protecting it. Cassandra's gaze lands on the ice-cream laying at Santana's feet, and she sighs. "You got her ice-cream just before dinner?" Cassandra asks, rolling her eyes. She assumes that's why Santana looks upset. Santana usually wouldn't cry over such a minor thing, but Cassandra figures she's tired enough to be upset by pretty much anything.

"Yeah, uh...sorry," Noah murmurs. Cassandra eyes him for a moment before shrugging it off,

"don't tell your mom," she states, throwing Santana a wink. "Come on, your mom and sisters are waiting for us." Cassandra takes a hold of Santana's hand and leads her kid back inside, not noticing how concerned Noah is. He wonders if he should tell his mothers about what Santana said to him, but he worries that it will just stress them out even more. Maybe he should just kept an extra eye on Santana himself.

"Is Quinn gonna be there?" he asks Santana softly question.

"Of course she is, honey," Cassandra replies. "Why wouldn't she be?" Cassandra asks.

"I dunno," Santana shrugs. "I was just wondering," she quietly asks. Cassandra misses the flash of fear that crosses Santana's face, but Noah doesn't. He frowns. He doesn't understand it. Had Santana convinced herself that her story is true so much that she's scared of their sister? Santana looks up at Noah as they walk through the mall to the restaurant, their family never ate at the food court due to Shelby thinking there's just too much processed food, and he sees the pleading in her big, brown eyes. He sighs, wishing he knew how to help her but, as far as he is concerned, her story isn't true. How can he help her with a fictional problem? "I'm going to the bathroom," Santana tells them as soon as they enter the restaurant, the girl all but sprinting away from them. Santana bites down on her bottom lip as she rushes to the bathroom, fighting back tears as she pushes the door open. She stands at the sinks and stares down at her shaking hands. She tries to look in the mirror, to check if her eyes are red, but she's too short to see. Why didn't Noah believe her? He always helped her, but this time she's on her own and that scares her even more. Brittany is still really nice to her, but Santana is starting to think that she's just pretending.

"You and your brother were gone for quite a while." Santana jumps, turning to look at Quinn with wide eyes. "We've been waiting on you."

"What are you doing?" Santana asks with a frown.

"I was sent to wait on you, to make sure you knew which table to come to," Quinn explains coldly. Hazel eyes flicker blue as Quinn studies Santana, her nostrils flaring. "What were you and the boy talking about?" she questions, her features suspicious.

"Nothing," Santana shrugs, trying to play it cool. "Just ice-cream," she stutters out.

"I don't believe you," Quinn snaps, storming over to Santana and standing over her. Santana whimpers, staring up at angry blue eyes. "Did you tell him?"

"Yes," Santana whispers, a tear leaking down her cheek. "I'm sorry," she whimpers, her bottom lip quivering. "I won't do it again, I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"Did he believe you?"

"No, I swear. I'm sorry," Santana says again, her voice full of pleading as fear ripples through her. Blue eyes bore into Santana's brown ones, studying the girl.

"For your sake, I hope he didn't."

_**To be continued...Please review.**_


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